Case Study:
City of London

Direct Access are the Accessibility Consultants for all of the City of London district’s housing estates, which together amass a total of 2,900 homes. Spanning all the public spaces within these estates, including parks, car parks, pathways, and gardens, the project, is seeing Direct Access deliver accessibility audits and reviews to all thirteen estates, which will conclude this October.

The review will also include some sheltered schemes in addition to thousands of homes, with two of the estates in the Square Mile, and the remainder in the six surrounding London Boroughs.

The results of the consultation will be utilised by architects on improvements and new builds.

The estates Direct Access audited include Avondale Square Estate (Southwark), City of London and Gresham Almshouses (Lambeth), Dron House, Whitechapel (Tower Hamlets), Golden Lane Estate (City of London), Hollway Estate (Islington), Horace Jones House (Southwark), Iseleden House (Islington), Middlesex Street Estate (City of London), Southbank Estates (Southwark), Sydenham Hill Estate (Lewisham), William Blake Estate (Southwark), Windsor House (Hackney) and York Way Estate (Islington), respectively.

Direct Access is referring to the British Standards BS 8300 in our reports, as well as the Lifetime Homes Standard and Wheelchair Housing Guide, which are geared to ensure housing is suitable for people throughout their lives.

Senior Access Consultant Tom Morgan comments “For us, this is a great opportunity to improve housing infrastructure in London and make environments more inclusive for everybody, including disabled people”.

“Our team’s expertise and lived experience as disabled people will ensure that City of London housing estates become and remain accessible for people of all abilities far into the future”.